For Lack of a Better Name

For Lack of a Better Name is the fourth studio album by Canadian electronic music producer Deadmau5. It was released on September 22, 2009 in the United States and Canada by Ultra Records and Mau5trap and internationally on 5 October 2009 by Virgin Records. The album features collaborations with MC Flipside ("Hi Friend!") and Rob Swire of Pendulum ("Ghosts 'n' Stuff"). The album also contains the critically acclaimed song "Strobe". It was deadmau5's first album to be released internationally on the Virgin Records label.

For Lack of a Better Name
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 22, 2009
Recorded2004–2009
Genre
Length65:52
Label
ProducerJoel Zimmerman
Deadmau5 chronology
At Play
(2008)
For Lack of a Better Name
(2009)
At Play Vol. 2
(2009)
Deadmau5 studio album chronology
Random Album Title
(2008)
For Lack of a Better Name
(2009)
4×4=12
(2010)
Singles from For Lack of a Better Name
  1. "Hi Friend!"
    Released: August 18, 2008
  2. "Ghosts 'n' Stuff"
    Released: November 24, 2008
  3. "Word Problems"
    Released: March 16, 2009
  4. "Lack of a Better Name"
    Released: July 28, 2009
  5. "Strobe"
    Released: September 3, 2009
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Chart Attack[2]
The Times[3]

Track listing

Continuous mix version

All tracks are written by Joel Zimmerman

For Lack of a Better Name continuous mix track listing
No.TitleLength
1."FML"6:35
2."Moar Ghosts 'n' Stuff"4:30
3."Ghosts 'n' Stuff" (featuring Rob Swire)3:15
4."Hi Friend!" (featuring MC Flipside)5:15
5."Bot"5:22
6."Word Problems"7:48
7."Soma"6:07
8."Lack of a Better Name"6:58
9."The 16th Hour"9:29
10."Strobe"10:37
Total length:65:52
Amazon MP3 bonus tracks[4]
No.TitleLength
11."Ghosts 'n' Stuff" (Sub Focus Remix) (featuring Rob Swire)4:26
iTunes bonus tracks[5]
No.TitleLength
11."Ghosts 'n' Stuff" (Nero Remix) (featuring Rob Swire)6:55

The Extended Mixes

All tracks are written by Joel Zimmerman

The Extended Mixes track listing
No.TitleLength
1."FML"7:01
2."Moar Ghosts 'n' Stuff"4:57
3."Ghosts 'n' Stuff" (featuring Rob Swire)5:29
4."Hi Friend!" (featuring MC Flipside)6:32
5."Bot"6:34
6."Word Problems"8:30
7."Soma"7:53
8."Lack of a Better Name"8:15
9."The 16th Hour"9:53
10."Strobe"10:33

A music video for "Ghosts 'n' Stuff" was released in August 2009. "Ghosts 'n' Stuff" was also featured on a promo for the Canadian edition of So You Think You Can Dance in 2010 and was in the 2020 music video game Fuser. The beginning of the song is also featured in a Chinese opusculum by Song Xiaobao. The songs "FML" and "Hi Friend!" are featured on an episode of Gossip Girl where deadmau5 appeared as himself. "Strobe" as well as the track "Cthulhu Sleeps" from his next album 4×4=12 also went on to appear in an episode of Epic Meal Time, in which deadmau5 also starred.

Charts

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for For Lack of a Better Name
Chart (2010)Position
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[14]22

Certifications

Certifications for For Lack of a Better Name
RegionCertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[15]Gold40,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[16]Gold100,000

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References